Reaching for the Balance
by Kazouha
Summary: Desperate on finding her uncle Luke Skywalker, Layla Solo travels to Jakku to find the mysterious explorer Lor San Tekka, who is supposed to have a map that is crucial for finding her former master. Soon Layla finds herself being thrown in the middle of an upcoming war between light and dark, with her fallen brother Ben becoming her deadliest enemy. [May contain spoilers from TLJ]
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay, this is my first fic in the Star Wars universe and obviously AU. I told myself to not write something until I read all of the canon books, but the idea won't leave me alone. The story starts around the beginning of TFA and will continue through TLJ. Be warned, because there can be spoilers even in the early chapters. Star Wars and its characters belong to George Lucas and Disney.**

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 _She woke to a horrible rush of pain. Opening her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness._ _She was in her room and i_ _t was still the middle of the night. Slowly becoming fully awake, she realized that the pain came through the force and then she heard them, the screams of her fellow Jedi apprentices. Without much thinking she jumped out of bed, grabbed her lightsaber from the nightstand and left her small room. Outside there was chaos, the temple_ _in the north_ _was burning and people were fighting each other_ _in the yard_ _with their lightsabers. Whatever had happened_ _before she had woken up_ _, now she_ _could clearly_ _feel_ _both sides of the Force around her, the dark and the light battling_ _each other_ _._ _Some of the apprentices seemed to have fallen to the dark side._ _She reached out for her master, but Luke's presence was only faint. He had_ _apparently_ _lost consciousness. When she turned her attention to the connection with her brother, all she felt was a wall around his mind and emptiness. He had shut her out. Before she could decide, what she was going to do, she felt a push through the Force, her head hit the stone wall_ _of her quarters_ _and darkness surrounded her once more._

Layla opened her eyes and let the vision from the past fade away. She sat at the edge of a cliff, a large canyon in front of her. The valley, she lived in, and the canyon were surrounded by mountains. Most parts of the secluded planet looked like that.

Usually Layla wouldn't think about the destruction of Luke's academy, but today for some reason the Force had shown it to her. She slowed her breath and tried to go back into meditation, but the laughing of small children distracted her too much. She turned her head and watched her twins, Jay and Mira emerge from the small house they were living in. They were playing with a ball and while Layla was first scared about their Force-sensitivity, it was now pride showing in her face as she watched them stopping the ball midair in turns. Here on Volik, a planet located in the Unknown Regions, they could grow up without the prying eyes of both the New Republic and the First Order, unknown to the world. She smiled.

Around midday, a smaller starship landed next to the cliffs where Layla had been meditating in the morning. Without looking at the ship, she knew, it was her close friend Paj, a male Twi'lek with green skin and a nice face. Volik was far too remote for random visitors and Layla hadn't even once met another inhabitant. After walking down the boarding ramp, like always, he first greeted Jay and Mira before giving her a small hug. She hadn't seen him for a while, he was off collecting information about the upcoming war most of the time.

"For a moment I thought you would never come back, Paj. What has kept you away for so long?" Layla had met the Twi'lek for the first time on Taul in the Outer Rim, shortly after the birth of her babies. They had quickly become friends and while she was hiding the children and herself on Volik, Paj traveled freely around the territories without being noticed. It had helped her a lot to keep up to date, but after nearly five years of searching there was still not a single hint to Luke's whereabouts. They went inside the house and Paj sat down at the table.

"Business with the Resistance. The New Republic senate doesn't stop believing that the First Order is no threat, but more and more systems fall under their leadership. A loyal friend of mine told me that General Organa has sent one of her pilots to get a map that leads to Luke Skywalker."

Layla's eyes widened and she nearly dropped the cup of water she was about to serve her friend. It was hard to believe that after all that time there finally was a ray of hope to find her former master. "Is that confirmed?"

"Yes, and I found out that it is in the hands of some explorer whose name is Lor San Tekka. You know him?" She nodded and shooed the twins into their bedroom. This was not meant for their ears.

"An old friend of Luke. He is a member of the Church of the Force. He and Luke where researching old Jedi lore when I met him for the first time." Layla liked the old man. She had met him quite often when he had visited her parents in her early childhood. Later, she had only seen him occasionally while living with her uncle and his visits had stopped when Luke made his decision to revive the Jedi Order and spent most of his time teaching younglings the ways of the Force.

"I found out that he lives on the desert planet Jakku. There is a small spiritual village where he has settled down. Shall I go to Jakku and ask him about the map?"

Layla shook her head. "He wouldn't give you any information about it. Lor San Tekka is very loyal to my uncle and the Resistance. This is something only I can get, but I don't feel like I'm ready to leave this planet yet. I want to talk to Luke, but Jay and Mira are too young to be dragged into this. I lost Ben to Snoke and I won't lose them!"

"Paj can stay here with us!" Jay shouted. Layla rolled her eyes. Of course, they had listened to the conversation.

"Paj has more important things to do than looking after two little troublemakers."

"It's fine with me!" He interrupted. "I know them and I know how to hide them. They are save with me, I promise! The New Republic is not interested in Force-sensitives and the First Order cannot track them down in uncharted space."

Layla closed her eyes. She wished she had more time, so she could meditate about it, but she wanted to be on Jakku before the Resistance. "Then I'll take my X-Wing and be on my way. Can I borrow the data of your navigation computer?"

Paj nodded and after giving the twins a quick goodbye, she strapped her saberstaff across her back and followed him to his starship. It was an old HWK-290, a light freighter in an impressively good condition, but somehow, she didn't like it. "Still no love for my little baby? Not all of us have the privilege to pilot a Corellian YT-1300 freighter like the _Millennium Falcon_."

"I never had that _privilege_. When I started to live with my uncle I was only four. I learned piloting from him, not my father."

"The more you tell me the more I believe your family is somehow difficult!"

Layla suppressed a laugh. "Difficult is a nice description for it. My father is a notorious smuggler, my mother is basically married to her job, my uncle still believes in a long extinct religion and my beloved brother is probably the most dangerous idiot in the universe." They both kept quiet after that and with the data stick in her hands she entered the forest.

Her stolen X-Wing was hidden a few miles north in a small hangar at the foot of the mountains. Hopefully, it was still in a condition to fly. She hadn't spent a minute on maintenance in the four years she had lived on Volik. She removed the dusty cover and the red X-Wing underneath looked nearly the same it had when she had stolen it. She climbed into the cockpit and placed her saberstaff into her lap. To her relief the engines started without any problem and she used the data from Paj's navigation computer to calculate her trip to Jakku. In hyperspace she shed a single tear. Her feelings told her she wouldn't see her children in a long time.

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 **AN: Thanks for reading! The chapter is a little short and I hope the next ones will be longer.  
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 **I don't know how fast I will update on this, but I won't abandon the story. Feel free to share your ideas with me and critique is appreciated. You can be strict, but be nice. English is not my native language, so please feel free to also correct my mistakes for I don't have a beta right now.  
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	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you very much for the follows and favorites. I edited the first chapter a little and added some descriptions. So, first chapter is updated and here comes the next chapter. It's still short, but again over 1,000 words. I'll try to make all chapters 1,000-1,500 words long. Have fun!**

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Even in hyperspace, it took Layla some time to reach the desert planet Jakku. From space, it reminded her of Tatooine, the home planet of her uncle and grandfather. She had visited it once, when she had taken a forbidden vacation from Jedi training. Jakku promised to be the same sandy hell. At least it wasn't crowded with criminals and outlaws, it was just a huge junkyard and full of scavengers salvaging old Star Destroyers. The Battle of Jakku had ended the Galactic Civil War twenty-nine years ago around the time of her birth. _'_ _Wish it had ended the empire for good!_ _'_ Speaking of the devil there was a huge black Star Destroyer of the First Order floating in the planet's orbit. ' _Of course, it has to be the First Order!_ _'_ She sighed and tried to stay out of sight. An encounter with those fanatics was the last thing she wanted to happen today. Luckily her small fighter wasn't very suspicious even for a X-Wing and she managed to go down to the planet's surface.

While flying over an endless field of sand her luck ran out. Something looking like a TIE fighter hit her from above and after a short struggle the X-Wing crashed onto the ground. She barely made it out of the cockpit before her ship exploded. For a moment her surroundings went black and she collapsed in the sand.

Coming back to her senses she had to focus to not lose her consciousness again. She crawled through the sand in search of her saberstaff. She found it under some debris, a little scratched but fully functional. Not knowing where to go she decided on walking towards the rising black smoke of the destroyed TIE fighter. After some time, she found an unconscious stormtrooper still stripped to his ejector seat. He had dark skin, a friendly face and looked mostly unharmed. To her surprise, he wasn't dressed in pilot gear, but the normal stormtrooper armor. He woke up when she leaned over him. In his panic he sat up and bumped his forehead against hers.

"W-What happened?"

"You crashed into my ship and we both collided with the planet's surface! Now, it seems we are both stranded in the middle of nowhere without food and water!" Layla was furious. The chances were low that she would easily find another ship to leave again. She watched the stormtrooper. He was still panicking.

"Poe! Poe!" He screamed as he jumped to his feet and started running towards the smoke. She followed him closely, still angry. Crossing a huge dune, they arrived at the TIE wreck. The stormtrooper was still shouting a name when he pulled a jacket from the damaged cockpit. Suddenly she had a bad feeling and pulled him back from the wreck. It sank into the sand and a giant explosion erupted from below. They stumbled away. "He's gone!" The stormtrooper dropped to his knees. A wave of emotions hit her. Panic, disorientation, horror, fear, exhaustion. He was going crazy and she was still too irritated to keep her shield up. His emotions hit her over and over again.

"Stop it! Pull yourself together! We need to find a settlement, or we'll die in the desert!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him into a standing position. She accidently touched the skin on the side of his hand and a vision of the man's escape flashed through her mind. ' _He is a deserter!_ _'_ "When the First Order is after you, we have to get away from here even faster! Come on!" Following the force, she crossed the dunes, dragging the stormtrooper with her.

"I'm sorry that we crashed into your ship." He started stripping off his armor. "I had a pretty messed up day!"

"What's your name?"

"… Finn. My name's Finn!"

"Okay Finn! I came here to find an old friend and because you decided that you had to deflect from the First Order today, I have to look for that damn spiritual village by foot!" She turned to him and tried to shake off her anger. "I'm Layla!"

"How …"

"Your TIE was shot down and there are no Resistance fighters here, meaning the Star Destroyer made you crash onto Jakku. And you were wearing normal stormtrooper armor not pilot's gear." She pointed out the obvious hints without revealing she had accidently meddled with his memories.

"Where are we going?"

She pointed at the horizon. "There is an outpost in that direction. From there we can part ways. I'm not interested in getting involved with the First Order and they're hunting you."

"You were talking about a village," Finn started after a while. "The First Order destroyed one in the night … and killed all of its inhabitants." Layla stopped dead in her tracks. A shiver went down her spine. Finn stopped as well. "A Resistance pilot was taken prisoner. I broke him out and we fled back to Jakku in that TIE fighter."

"Do you know why the First Order is here?"

He hesitated for a moment. "They are looking for a map that leads to Luke Skywalker. One of the villagers gave it to the pilot, Poe Dameron. We were going back to Jakku to find his droid. The map is hidden inside it."

 _'_ _Wonderful! A droid!'_ She felt her anger rising. _'Why can nothing in my life be easy?!'_ She bit her lip and tried to concentrate on something positive. It wouldn't do anything good if she lost her temper now. The stormtrooper was already rattled enough. Suddenly something in her chest tightened. "The villager? Is he a human older man? What happened to him?"

"Yes, he was. First, he was taken prisoner, but I guess he had angered Kylo Ren and then that maniac killed him and ordered the village to be destroyed."

She bit her lip again. So, Lor San Tekka was dead. At least, he had managed to hide the map from the First Order. Otherwise, the Star Destroyer wouldn't be here anymore. They were searching for the droid. "Do you know, what the droid looks like? Model? Color?"

"BB-unit, orange and white. It belonged to Poe and he said the droid is one of a kind. The village was not too far away from where we crashed. It must be somewhere around." Layla nodded and they continued their journey.

It didn't take them long before they reached a huge dune and atop the dune they could see an outpost a few miles away. She wasn't sure if they would make it. Both Finn and Layla were exhausted and thirsty. The sun burned hot above their heads and the rough sand found its way into every fold of their clothes.

Against all odds they made it to the settlement. It was inhabited by all kinds of aliens and humans scrubbing their salvage and selling it for food. They were very poor, even most slaves had better living conditions. Finn ran off in order to find some water and not knowing where to start her research she followed him. When they reunited, the former stormtrooper was watching a skirmish between two hooded creatures and a girl. She grabbed his wrist.

"This isn't our business. Don't get involved! This is drawing too much attention on you." The girl fought the attackers off. She was quite skilled in handling her quarterstaff. "Look, she can deal with them on her own."

It took the girl only another swing with her quarterstaff and the hooded creatures fled. She knelt down and pulled a sack off something. It was a round ball-like droid with a dome head, a BB-unit. Most parts of the rather small droid were white, but with orange and grey accents. ' _BB-unit, white and orange. That actually was easy!'_

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 **AN: So, that's it again. I hope you liked it and if not please let me know why. I'm thinking of using different POVs in this work. Good idea or should I stay with only Layla? In my opinion some more POVs would make it a little more interesting. Please review, I want to know what you are thinking :D** _  
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	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Sorry for the delay. University started again and I'm learning for my master exams. The next chapter is a little longer than the others. Enjoy! Before I forget:**

 _ **This text**_ is the "mind talk" of Kylo Ren, _this text_ is the "mind talk" of Layla and _'this text'_ are Layla's normal thoughts.

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The euphoric feeling Layla had, disappeared as suddenly as it had come. There was the droid that had the map, the BB-unit, but it was in company of the girl and communicated with her. She looked up and spotted Finn and Layla over the short distance, a hostile expression on her face. Thanks to her sharp senses Layla was able to analyze the situation within seconds. Whatever the droid had said to the girl, she was running towards them now, her quarterstaff ready. She was about to attack them and neither Layla nor Finn had a weapon to defend themselves. The saberstaff was out of option. The space in between the tents of the marketplace was too narrow for it and Layla didn't want to hurt someone with the blades. So, there was only one option left.

"Finn, run!"

She turned around and began running, slipping between the stalls to lose the follower. While Layla was fast and agile despite her dehydration, Finn was not so lucky. He tried to follow her, but the girl was faster and slammed him to the ground with her staff. Layla stopped and watched for a moment, before she decided to help Finn. _'One last time!'_ She went over to them.

"What's your hurry, thief?" The girl asked, threatening Finn with her staff. He was still on the ground breathing heavily. He was right, his day was pretty messed up and it didn't seem as it would end soon.

"What … thief?" Finn answered. The droid rolled over to him and shocked him with a small bolt of electricity. For a little astromech droid it was quite aggressive. Finn protested and tried to stand up, but the girl still held him down with her staff.

"The jacket! This droid says you stole it!"

Layla looked at Finn. He was wearing the jacket he had pulled from the TIE fighter. "He didn't!" She interrupted. "I was with him, when he found it and I can assure you, he didn't steal it!"

"He says it belongs to his master." No wonder the droid was so hostile. A bit of sympathy dwelled in her heart. Such a loyal and devoted companion was rare in the galaxy.

Finn sighs. "It belonged to Poe Dameron. That was his name, right?" He paused. "He was captured by the First Order! I helped him escape, but we were hit, and our ship crashed." He stopped.

"They crashed right into my ship," Layla continued. "I found Finn and he tried to help your master, but Poe didn't make it."

The droid seemed sad and rolled off. The girl looks Finn over again, lowering her staff.

"So, you're with the Resistance?"

Layla held her breath. The question was only directed at Finn and she wondered what the stormtrooper would answer.

"Yes. I am. I'm with the Resistance. I'm with the Resistance!" He finally stands up and Layla used the Force to hit him on the shoulder. He turned in shock and she gave him a disappointed look. He was such a coward.

"And you?" The girl studied Layla.

"I'm not. I just wanted to visit a friend when he destroyed my ship." She pointed at Finn. "Now, I'm kind of stuck here." The girl nodded and her attention switched back to Finn.

"BB-8 says he's on a secret mission, he has to get back to your base."

"Yes, he's carrying a map, that leads to Luke Skywalker, and everyone's after it."

Layla sighed. If Finn continued like that, everyone on Jakku would know about the map by evening. The girl looked concerned but curious. Just when she was about to say something, BB-8 beeps madly and they peek around a tent. In the distance there were two stormtroopers talking to the hooded creatures the girl had beaten before. And they pointed their way. The stormtroopers looked at them and Finn grabbed the girl's hand. She protested but Finn ignored her as the two ran towards the tents again. Layla waited a moment and when the troopers started shooting at her, she reached for her saberstaff. Wielding a staff with two blades was a little tricky and Layla hadn't used it in real combat before, but it would be enough to hold off some stormtroopers. An unstable green blade ignited on each side of the staff. They were rather short, but still long enough to repel the laser blasts. She managed to knock out some of the attackers charging at her. When reinforcements for the troopers arrived, she turned on her heel and ran after Finn and the girl. The tents on the marketplace were like a huge maze. She had to turn off the staff to not hurt someone and the crackling, humming sound of the blades made her nervous anyways.

The others had already made it out of the outpost and they were running at a pace it was hard for Layla to catch up. In contrast to Finn she hadn't had any water and was dehydrated, and she wasn't used to physical exertion like this. She followed them across an open field to a freighter that looked quite familiar to her. The First Order had sent TIE fighters that were now shooting at everyone moving on the ground. _'Yes, destroy the droid and we can start over searching for Luke!'_ Whoever was in command of this assault had clearly no idea how valuable information on Luke's whereabouts was. She shook her head and managed to step onto the ships boarding ramp unharmed. She looked for Finn who had already found his way to the ventral laser canon. The ramp closed.

"Finn, are you okay?" She asked looking down to the gunner's position.

"Yeah, I can do this … I can do this!" He sounded like he tried to convince himself of it. "The girl is a pilot! She's in the cockpit!"

"Thanks! Hang in there Finn. With the TIE's at our back we'll not be able to leave this junkyard." _'Not to mention, that we'll die in this junkyard!'_ Layla made her way to the cockpit. She placed herself in the co-pilot's seat. "Have you piloted her before?"

"Her?" The girl looked at her, curiosity all across her face as she started the engines. The _Falcon_ roared to life and in the same moment the TIE fighters started attacking them. Layla watched her right. She wished she had spent more time at home with her father to actually learn how to fly the freighter in the right way. To her relief, she found the switch, she was looking for.

"Shields up! By 'her' I mean the ship!"

"No, it

hasn't been flown in years!"

Too concentrated to continue speaking the girl flipped some switches and the _Falcon_ rose from the ground. It slammed into the outpost's archway before she managed to stabilize it. Layla eyed her. The girl was young, not older than twenty, with dark brown hair and freckles around her nose. Her skin was tanned from working in the desert sun.

"Since we are probably going to die together, we should at least know who you are. I'm Layla and the other one is Finn!"

"I'm Rey!"

"I guess you know your way around here? There are two TIE fighters chasing us! You can try to outfly them or Finn shoots them down. Is there a place where we have a little cover from the laser beams? The shields won't be enough protection if both fire at us!"

The girl, Rey, nodded. Layla was positively surprised by how Rey managed to pilot the _Falcon_. The ship was old and she had her own mind. It was a wonder Rey had lifted her into the air. They headed for the sky.

"Stay low! Stay low!" Finn shouted and Rey only gave a confused answer. "Stay low! It confuses their tracking!"

"We really need to find cover!" Suddenly, everything went quiet and Layla felt her surroundings shifting for a moment before she closed her eyes. She felt nauseous and couldn't fight the presence that was slowly creeping into her mind. When Finn had mentioned her brother, she had hoped he wouldn't be aware of her or ignore her.

 ** _Fatal mistake._** Hearing his voice made her body shiver. He sounded angry. **_I am! Give me the map!_**

 _Why should I?_ , she answered. _How can you be so sure, that I have the map?_

 ** _You are on Jakku!_** **_This is nowhere! The map is the only possible reason why you are here!_** For a second, she wished to intensify their connection and look where he was at the moment.

 _Stop talking to me! In case you don't remember, we parted on bad terms and you killing Lor San Tekka only made it worse!_ It wasn't her best idea to provoke him, but if she pushed him over the edge a little, he wouldn't be able to participate in the hunt. She focused on her own anger and sent it to him through the connection.

 ** _Why should I care? He was just some acquaintance of Skywalker and he refused to hand over the map!_**

 _Maybe if you had asked nicely?_ She was moving on dangerous terrain. It was enough to make him snap. A dark wave of anger hit her together with some images of destroyed controls. _Keep destroying the ship! It would fit in perfectly with the other Star Destroyers down here!_

 ** _Stop talking!_**

 _You were the one, who invaded my mind! And now, get out!_ The nauseous feeling had passed and Layla raised her mental shields to shut him out. It worked and when she opened her eyes, the noises of her surroundings returned. They were flying towards the sky. The TIE fighters at their back were gone, probably destroyed.

"You're okay?" Rey watched her with a concerned look in her eyes.

"Yes, just a nasty headache. How long was I out?"

"Not that long. One of the TIEs was destroyed at the old Star Destroyers, the other was shot down by your friend."

Layla nodded and called BB-8. "Can you calculate a save route for us, BB-8? We just need to get away from the First Order. Mid Rim or Outer Rim will do!" The droid beeped happily. Of course, she could have used the navigation computer, but BB-8 knew where his base was and she was sure he would guide them into the right direction.

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 **AN: Thanks for reading and please leave a review. Thank you to 'Arianna Le Fay' and 'Bad Ass Female Fighter' for your comments. Again no beta so please notify me about any mistakes.  
**

 **Normally, I plan my fics from beginning to end, but this one is more fluid I'd say. That means, I'm interested in your ideas and I'll probably use some of them in the future. Please inspire me! I received a question concerning the twins' father and I'm still not sure what to do with him. Do you want him alive or dead?  
**

 **Now, I'll answer some questions (There are not really spoilers in the answers, but if you don't want to know, don't read them!):**

 **Arianna Le Fay - 'Who is the twins' father?' and 'Can Layla have Luke's lightsaber?':** I'll probably reveal the father in some future chapter, but they definitely have a father. I just don't know yet if he's still alive or dead. And for the lightsaber, which one? The original one of Anakin or his personal one? The original one is, like in the movie, still in Maz' possession. I'll give it to Rey first, but maybe they'll change weapons at some point since Rey is more the staff-type. Guess she'll look amazing with a saberstaff instead of her quarterstaff.


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